Новости за 19.02.2020

Judah Grunstein, World Politics Review

Is Washington ready to embrace restraint as the guiding principle of U.S. foreign policy? Several recent developments suggest that at least when it comes to some prominent debates over national security, the answer is a guarded yes. Last week, the Senate passed a bipartisan war powers resolution prohibiting the White House from going to war with Iran without congressional approval. The White House also reportedly signed off on a tentative deal with the... Читать дальше...

Ashoka Mody, Spectator

Ursula von der Leyen was an unloved choice to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as the next president of the European Commission. She emerged from a ferociously contentious process as a last-minute compromise and she promptly fell into a storm of criticism. Even members of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) shellacked her. In the thankless role of German defence minister, she was unable to overcome the handicaps imposed by Germany’s postwar pacifism and mindless fiscal... Читать дальше...

Michael Shurkin, RealClearWorld

There is a very real possibility that the security crisis afflicting Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger will spread to the countries of the West African littoral. Talk of a U.S. drawdown from Africa, or of U.S. support for French military operations in Africa's Sahel region, must take the evidence of this looming crisis into consideration. It most notably concerns...

Thomas Joscelyn, The Dispatch

The question is less about when to leave and more about how to do so without further emboldening the Taliban.

Kareem Shaheen, The National

The Syrian President now controls the road linking Damascus and Aleppo for the first time in years.

Mark Chen, Taipei Times

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that China tried to prevent US state governors from congratulating President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on her electoral victory last month.

Kamran Bokhari & Faysal Itani, The Navigator

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is principally about geography and the anxieties it fuels. Any peace deal that does not address these concerns from the outset is doomed, as is any deal that sees support from Arab regimes as an adequate substitute for Palestinian buy-in. 

Safi Bahcall, War on the Rocks

In 1922, two engineers at the U.S. Navy’s research lab just outside Washington, D.C. set up a radio transmitter and receiver on opposite sides of the Potomac. They were testing new ways for ships to communicate at sea. When a ship sailing down the Potomac disrupted their signal, they quickly realized their system could be used to detect enemy ships through fog or darkness. They submitted a proposal to develop the idea. The Navy...

Jennifer Cafarella, Foreign Affairs

A Currency Crisis Has Created an Opportunity to Shape the War’s End

Josef Joffe, The American Interest

In Germany and the rest of Europe, centrist parties are losing ground.

Amanda Sloat, Brookings

The annual gathering of the Munich Security Conference provides a useful barometer for the health of the transatlantic relationship. Two years ago, Europeans were reeling from the first year of the Trump administration. Last year, they were resigned to that reality and determined to press ahead. This past weekend, everyone was searching for a savior to address critical...

Khaled al-Khateb, Al Monitor

ALEPPO, Syria — The Russian-backed Syrian regime forces and their loyal militias regained full control of the strategic M5 highway, connecting Aleppo to Hama, Homs and Damascus. The Syrian government forces have been also rapidly advancing...

Carlotta Gall, NYT

The Syrian government, backed by Russian forces, has accelerated its monthslong offensive to seize control of Idlib, the last province held by the opposition. Facing heavy bombardment of towns and villages, about 900,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled their homes since December, joining the largest exodus of Syria’s civil war since it began nine years ago.

Walter Mayr, Der Spiegel

The sun in the south, the mountains in the north and stunningly beautiful cities in between: Life in Italy, one might think, is just short of paradise. But residents of the country are deeply unhappy. Why?

M. Chulov & D. Sabbagh, Guardian

Loss of revered Quds Force commander and his aides has derailed country’s momentum in region.

Christopher Caldwell, Commentary

‘Fatalism and Fellatio” is the title the Süddeutsche Zeitung gave last fall to a scathing essay about Michel Houellebecq’s seventh novel, Serotonin. The reviewer assailed Houellebecq’s prose, despairing that even certain female critics should be thrilled by the musings of this “depressive sexist.” It was a familiar assessment. The 62-year-old Houellebecq (pronounced Wellabeck) is an eccentric. He makes passes at female journalists sent to interview him. He... Читать дальше...